Himuro Claims More Lives
by kiriesrain
Summary: Set in present day, Michiko and Reiko Tetsuya visit Himuro mansion for a history report. Things go awry after a short while, and the two are thrust into a nightmare...Better summaries inside too.
1. Chapter 1

_Uh…another fanfic of first Fatal Frame. Kind of random really. This is what happens when I don't feel like studying for my finals! Well, overview time. _

_Michiko Tetsuya visits Himuro mansion with her sister, Reiko, to see if the myths surrounding the mansion are true...and for a project grade. However, when strange marks appear and other unexplainable things occur, the skeptical Michiko finds that the stories are more accurate than she thought..._

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* * *

****Chapter 1**

Michiko looked around helplessly, flailing in a circle. Trees became a blur and she fell heavily onto the soft earth. She wrapped her arms around her bare legs and stared at the gray sky. A light drop grazed her face and fell down her cheek, splattering onto the ground. Michiko sighed and took her bag off her shoulder. Opening it, she scrounged through the loose papers to find a map of the area. The lines were shaky, obviously it was hand drawn, but it was the best guide that she had since no one in the village would come within fifty feet of the forest. Why were the people so afraid of this place? They didn't really think this place was…haunted, right?

Michiko was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the soft rustling of leaves and someone stand a few feet away from her. Her sister, Reiko, walked over to Michiko and poked her shoulder. Startled, Michiko jerked and looked up. She scanned the black boots, the black and red plaid skirt and white corset top her sister wore. The many chains on her wrists jangled with any slight movement, as did the ones on her neck which were slightly muffled from the dark blue tie she wore under them. Reiko's black bangs covered her right eye and the rest of her hair fell lightly on her shoulders. Michiko glanced at her school uniform, white blouse, orange and red plaid skirt and identical tie, and knee high socks and black shoes, and thought to herself; 'Why didn't I change?'

Michiko brushed away a loose strand of hair which fell from her tight bun and pushed up her sliding glasses. Her eyes went back to scanning the map for an answer. Sensing her sister's confusion, Reiko decided to talk.

"Are we lost, Michiko?"

"No, just misplaced," Michiko muttered, not looking up.

Reiko sighed and hugged herself as a chill swept by them. She tapped her foot irritably and looked at her surroundings while thinking back to how she got stuck going with her older sister to look for a haunted mansion.

* * *

"_It'll be fun, Reiko!" Michiko said, walking backwards to cut her sister off. "Besides, you like stuff like this! Haunted houses, ghosts, and all that paranormal stuff."_

"_Yeah, but you don't. You hate that stuff." Reiko said, trying to step around her._

_Michiko stopped and grabbed Reiko's hand. Her other hand was used to point at the direction of their house down a block away from them._

"_Mom and Dad said I need someone to go with me. All my friends are doing their reports this weekend, so none of them can go. That leaves only you."_

"_You're older than me. I think that our parents meant for someone your age to go along with you, not two years younger. What good will me being there do?"_

_Michiko frowned in thought, then pouted. "Please, Reiko! Without this grade I might fail! It'll only be two days! Please!"_

"_Why can't you read a book about it?" Reiko snapped._

_Michiko looked down at the paved road. "Because...there are no books about the mansion's rituals. If I could go there, I might be able to find some. Get it?" _

* * *

'I should've let her find someone else. This sucks.' Michiko stood up suddenly, closing her bag and brushing the dirt away from her skirt. She was smiling triumphantly. 'Great, she found it,' Reiko thought, harshly. Michiko led the way, talking to Reiko but Reiko couldn't hear it, she could only hear the angry thoughts that raced through her mind. 'She couldn't have just given up looking for it? People are freaked out about this place…that should be a warning that we shouldn't have come here.'

Michiko looked back to see Reiko trailing behind, her feet dragging and making lines in the brown earth. She frowned again but went on at the same pace. 'We're almost there,' she thought, '…just a few more feet. How could I have missed it?' They walked farther down the path. The farther they went, the colder it seemed to get. Michiko shuddered slightly and glancing back at Reiko, she saw her shudder too.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Michiko's feet changed. Soft thuds were made. She looked at the ground and saw planks of weathered wood. She looked at where they went and she saw the many steps that led to a grand mansion. Michiko couldn't hold back her smile. 'I found it; there'll be hope for my grade now.'

"That's it?" Reiko asked, in a disgusted voice. "Huh, if the inside looks anything like this, I'd be afraid of it collapsing on us. Not of the 'ghosts'."

Michiko shot an angry glance at her sister and went ahead. Reiko shrugged and hesitantly followed her sister.

"You know the stories about this place, right?" Michiko called back to her sister. Reiko muttered 'Kinda,' and Michiko went on. "Well, what do you know?"

"Not much. Just that the last master went insane, killed everyone, a family that lived here many years after vanished, and a research group too a while later. Right?"

"Well, that's the shortened version. You forgot about the Hinasakis though, and the Munakata girl."

"Really?" Reiko said, feigning interest. Although a part of her was truly fascinated with this, the other part of her wanted to be at her house, with nothing to worry about before she started her final tests. 'I miss electricity.'

Michiko turned around as she stood in front of the giant faded doors that led into the house. She leaned against them, arms crossed and watched as her sister stopped just short of her.

"The Munakata girl was found after her parents disappeared, she couldn't remember anything. She was adopted by the Hinasaki family, friends to the Munakatas. Her daughter's the mother of Miku and Mafuyu," Reiko stared blankly at Michiko as she paused. The names weren't familiar to her. Michiko went on. "Mafuyu went in here," she kicked the door with her heel. "…to find the research group who went missing. Junsei Takamine, Tomoe Hirasaka, and Koji Ogata. They all vanished as well, it's supposed that they died in there. When Mafuyu never came back, his sister Miku, went in to find him. She was the only one that came back, and she won't tell anyone what happened in there."

"Wow. That was quite a story." Reiko paused, skeptical about something. "How do you know all the details about this? It was way before our time."

"Hey! It happened a year before I was born, don't say that it was, '_way_ before our time'. You're saying that you're old too!" Michiko laughed while Reiko smiled. "Anyway, I read it in the library. You'd be surprised how much information they have on this place. They just don't have anything about the _rituals_. This is what I need for my report…Types of Rituals Japan Participated In."

"I hope I don't have your history class, that topic blows."

Michiko glared again, but decided not to say anything. She turned around and pushed the door open. The small amount of light filtered through the open door, which made it easier to see the entrance hall. Reiko peered around her sister and gasped at the state in which it was in. Rotting wood was piled onto a side of the room. Obviously it had fallen down somehow. Michiko reached in her bag and grabbed a flashlight as Reiko did the same. They entered the mansion and turned on the lights. As soon as Reiko crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut heavily. The two girls whisked around in surprise. Quickly, Reiko pushed and pulled against the doors.

"It's no use," she gasped, as she stared hopelessly at the door. "It won't budge at all."

Michiko's light ran up and down the door, illuminating it so that deep gashes could be seen. 'We're trapped in here? No, no. That's not right. It's just stuck is all.' Michiko turned to take in the room more. It was definitely falling apart. At the top of the stairs there was a giant gap and half a lattice stood across from the hole. Her flashlight ran around wildly, stopping at a wall to the right. A mask was there. Feeling entranced, she walked up the small steps, brushing a candle as she went by. Reiko turned to watch Michiko, but didn't move. Instead her light went to a lattice next to where they entered; a small bundle caught her eye. She went over to it and kneeled, her hands holding onto the thin wood to support her. 'What is that? A body?'

Michiko touched the mask, it was cold and the reddish paint covered her fingers when she pulled back from it. 'What a weird mask. It's angry. Why would it be here? No one would want to be greeted by that.' She took a small memo pad and pencil from her bag and wrote a description of the mask into the section called, 'Things that don't belong.' She slid the memo back into her bag and looked at the opposite side of the room. A door stood there, it was wearing away too. 'The whole place is falling apart. We shouldn't stay around here too long then.' She walked over to the door and called to Reiko.

"Hey, Reiko! Come on! This room isn't much help, you know?"

Reiko looked away from the body. She stopped in front of the stairs and looked at the candle. It was lit.

"Hey, did you light that?" Reiko asked, pointing to the white candle.

"With what?" Michiko asked looking back at it.

"Candles don't light themselves, Michiko." Reiko muttered as she passed her and slid open the door.

Michiko hesitated before going into the hall. She wrote down notes of the candle and the body. She followed her sister into the hall, closing the door behind them. Michiko took another note of all the ropes in this hall and looked around for Reiko. She was at the end of the hall, in front of a big mirror. Reiko stared at it and watched her sister's reflection come nearer.

"What is it?" Michiko asked.

"I don't know. The mirror creeps me out a bit."

Michiko was confused about how a mirror could creep someone out, but she went with it. The door to the left was boarded so they went through the door to the right. This room was slightly better with only the fireplace in bad damage. Reiko went on upstairs while Michiko went through the gap in the wall to read the books. She tried to pick them up, but they either fell apart at her touch or they wouldn't budge. Michiko turned to the stairs behind her and noticed that they were broken. Reiko walked over to a door and tried to open it. A large padlock prevented her from opening it. She sighed and turned to go back downstairs, but a sound stopped her. She turned back to the door and pressed her ear against it. Soft voices could be heard on the other side, but it was impossible to catch anything.

"Well, those books aren't much help." Michiko said walking back to the fireplace. "Did you find anything? Reiko?" she looked up. "What are you doing?"

Reiko backed away. "Thought I heard something…never mind."

"Don't go crazy on me, alright?" Michiko said as Reiko walked past.

Reiko smiled and sat gently on the dusty floor. She took out an ipod player from her bag and put the earphones in her ears. "We need a key to get up there."

Michiko sighed. "Where's the key then?" Reiko shrugged. "I guess we'll look around for it. You look in here. I'll look in that rope hall and the entrance. Yell if you find it." Reiko saluted her sister, put her ipod back, and stood up. Michiko shook her head at her sister and went through the door.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Michiko walked back into the room with the fireplace, slightly sweaty and with dust and dirt stained on her legs from crawling on the ground. She walked disappointedly into the room and sat on the bottom step. After resting for a minute, she opened he mouth. "I couldn't find it in those rooms, I found some blood stains, but no key. What about you, Reiko?" When no one answered her, Michiko looked up and scanned the room. No one was there. Worried, Michiko stood up and called out, "Reiko, hey! Reiko! Where are you?"

"In here!" a muffled voice answered. Michiko went around the stairs and found a door that wasn't there before. The door opened and Reiko came in holding a bronze key in the hand without a flashlight. "You wouldn't believe where I found it, or how!" she paused and looked her sister over. "Whoa, fell in the dirt did you?"

"Haha," Michiko said sarcastically. "Let's get out of this room. It's starting to piss me off." Reiko laughed. 'She's just mad she didn't find it herself.' They grabbed their bags and unlocked the door. This room had to be a type of study. A shade was across from them and an old table in front of that. Michiko put her bag on the table and looked at the watch on her wrist. It was almost 10 o'clock. 'Ten? Time really flies.' She laid down near the brazier. The padded floor was much more comfortable then the wood floors.

"I'm going to sleep. You mind?"

"Nah, I was starting to think the same. 'Night."

"'Night."

_

* * *

__Ropes..._

_Blood..._

_Mirrors..._

_People on the ground..._

_A giant door..._

_A dark fog..._

_A woman in a white kimono..._

_What did it all mean?_

_Reiko was walking in the rope hall, her chains glimmered in the soft light and clattered against each other. Her head turned each way as if she felt someone was there. She reached the door to the entrance and pulled on it. It didn't move. She struggled harder. She couldn't see the lady in the kimono turn the corner from where the boarded door was. The lady seemed to glide across the floor effortlessly. In a matter of seconds, she was two feet from Reiko._

_Reiko stopped and stared at the lady, horrified, but why? She tried to dodge her but the lady was in her way. Could she run through her? She sidestepped the lady as she reached out for Reiko. The dark fog surrounded them both until they were blotted out. A loud scream, bone chilling...pained..._

* * *

Michiko sat straight up and yelled in pain. She breathed heavily and looked around. Where was Reiko? Michiko hurriedly stood up and checked the door behind her, locked, the door to the fireplace room, locked. She ran around the screen to the other door, it was an observatory. She closed that door and ran back to the other two doors to try again, but they were stuck. There was no way that they'd move. Michiko was hyperventilating. She leaned against the table and her hand fell onto a small piece of paper. She scanned it quickly and realized Reiko's curled writing._

* * *

__Sis,_

_I know that you'll hate me for this, but I have to look around. We're trapped. I know you won't admit it but it's obvious we can't get out. Someone doesn't want us to leave. I can feel it somehow. I don't know how. It's not like a sixth sense feeling, maybe some type of intuition? It's hard to explain, but I bet you feel it too. I'll be back soon, so don't get worried if I'm not there when you wake up. I would have woken you up but you were exhausted and that would have been mean. I'll be back! I promise._

_Reiko_

* * *

Michiko reread the note over and over. All she could think of was that weird dream. 'Please don't let Reiko be hurt! God, I don't want anything bad to happen to her! We shouldn't have ever come here...this place _is_ haunted…'

Michiko started to cry. She used the back of her hand to wipe the tears, but it wouldn't help. She lifted her hand again but stopped a couple inches away from her face. With her sleeve pulled back, she could see a slight burn on her wrist. She pulled back the watch on her left hand and saw the mark there as well.

"What's going on? What is this?"

The marks faded but were still lightly visible in the light. Michiko moaned sadly and collapsed onto the floor, her head held down and the tears flowing down onto the floor.

"Why's this happening?" she spluttered. "Reiko…"

_

* * *

__Yeah, this chapter, I'm not sure about it. More answers will come in the next chapter. Trust me, they will. _


	2. Chapter 2

_(Something about this chapter, it's going to be in both sides of Reiko's and Michiko's occurrences in the mansion. Hopefully it won't be too confusing. At least, not confusing reading wise, the storyline is confusing, yep. But that's how I want it. I want to confuse people. It's fun.)_

_Enter Chapter 2:_

_Michiko is helpless. Her sister's missing or worse and she has no way of finding her. No one is alive in the mansion, so how can she get any help? Although there is one ghost willing to help the defenseless girl to get her sister and leave alive. Michiko has to learn to trust someone who's died almost over 20 years ago..._

_Reiko is lost, far away from her sister. She scolds herself for leaving Michiko behind and with the lady after her; she finds that she shouldn't have done it. And to make matters worse, Reiko can see the ghosts in the mansion, she doesn't know how she can or why, but she can tell they don't want her to leave and will prevent her from trying to... _

**

* * *

****Chapter 2**

Sadly, Michiko continued to look down at the floor, Reiko's note still in her hand. A noise from behind startled the teen. She peered around, but couldn't find the source. Shaking, Michiko stood up weakly and went behind the shade to open the door. A balcony was there. She went outside to get some air. The breeze was nice, not as cold as it was when they first came to the mansion. Michiko leaned lightly over the rail and looked down to the untended atrium. A building was there, two torii gates, and some type of walkway that led to another room across from her. She wiped her face and thought to herself, 'I have to look a mess. Tear stains, dirt and dust, how could Reiko have stayed so clean in here?' She smiled at the memory of Reiko when she waved the key in her face. How she laughed at how Michiko looked like she fell into dirt. 'Don't let anything bad have happened to her. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything did.' Saddened again, her head drooped down to her chest.

Just as she felt like crying again, the same soft clicking noise returned. She turned around quickly, but still saw nothing in the study room. She went back in and looked to her right. Another door was there, one that she didn't see before. Half expecting it to be locked too, she was surprised when it slid open effortlessly. Triumphantly she ran back to get her and Reiko's bags and went back to the door. Before going out into that walkway, she peered into a room across from it. The door was ripped and could be easily slipped into. Carefully, she slid through and stared in amazement at all the books. 'Maybe one has a book on the rituals here? Or one could tell me about what's happening here?' Abandoning her search for Reiko, Michiko observed the books in the small room.

In her search, she found four by the author Ryozo Munakata that seemed to be useful. Two were about a ritual of strangling and the other two were about blinding. She skimmed them through briefly and put them in her bag. Deciding none of the others would be helpful, she went through the opposite door. This walkway wasn't in that bad a condition. Nothing was broken or lying in the way to be climbed over. She noticed another large mirror and looked at it. 'What do these mirrors mean?' Michiko saw a small glimmer in the bottom corner and kneeled down to get it. As soon as she touched it, her vision became cloudy and everything was gray tinted, like in a movie from the early 1900's.

"What the-?" Michiko murmured. She looked back up at the mirror and saw the lady in the white kimono. She turned around, but no one was there. Shocked, she got up and backed away. "She's…_in_ the mirror?"

The lady stood there and watched Michiko. She held her hand out and the mirror was tugging away until it finally snapped into many pieces. Michiko screamed and covered her face with her arms. The glass shards struck Michiko and she yelled louder. Then, the room went quiet. Michiko panted and her vision slowly went back to normal. She looked at her arms and saw no cuts or blood, and looking at the mirror she saw that it was how she came by to see it. No cracks, no chips, it almost looked brand new. Having enough, Michiko ran down the stairs and turned a corner. She opened the door and slammed it shut loudly behind her. Michiko stared at another shade that was right in front of her. It had some sort of design on it. The Himuro family's crest. Michiko leaned against the door and wrote some more notes in her memo book on what had happened.

She went behind the shade and saw a long table, filled in rows of some sort of tablets and candles. Michiko turned off her flashlight and sat down against the table and tried to catch her breath. Closing her eyes, the scene with the lady in the mirror replayed over and over. Michiko twitched at the memory and decided to play some music on Reiko's ipod. 'There better be some relaxing music on here,' she thought as she took it out of Reiko's bag. She smiled at that thought. 'Relaxing, right. It's Reiko, not mom and dad.' She searched for a good song and decided to listen to Tsukiko Amano, probably the only artist the both of them liked. The music calmed her nerves and soon after Michiko went to sleep.

* * *

Reiko jerked awake. Her eyes were blurry and every part of her body ached. The memory of the lady was still fresh in her mind and she tried to shake it away from her mind. She sat up and held her head. Screams echoed in her ears and no matter what she did they wouldn't get out. 'Why did I leave my ipod behind? It would seriously help now.' Reiko looked around at the dimly lit room. Dolls were everywhere in this room. A table on her left was filled with so many they almost looked squished to make room and a small table on her right had only a few, but they were slightly more beautiful.

Using the small table as leverage, she stood up heavily and leaned against it. Reiko looked at the ground for her flashlight, but remembered that she had dropped it in the rope hall. She had nothing with her now, how could she expect to get out of here? 'And what about Michiko? She has to be worried sick…if only my curiosity hadn't been piqued. I would have stayed with her. None of this would've happened.'

Reiko's eyes were still cloudy and it felt like she was colorblind. Everything was grainy. "Great," she muttered. "…I have no flashlight, no bag full of food or music, my head hurts like hell, and I'm blindish. Could this get any worse!"

Laughter reached her ears. It was better than hearing screaming, that was true, but it was a strange, high laughter, shrieking, childish. Reiko turned around to see a shelf and a worshipped white doll in a small alcove. The doll brought memories of the lady and Reiko shook her head to get the sight out. The laughter was louder now, and she held her hands to her ears to try and stop it but it still filtered through. A ball dropped from the highest shelf and tapped her boot. The laughter stopped, to Reiko's relief but that relief didn't last long. A small closet door opened underneath the shelves and a young child crawled out. Reiko backed away in surprise, but was even more surprised to see the color of the girl. Everything else was gray, white, or black, but this girl had on a red kimono, black hair, and normal color skin. The laughter came back and scared out of her wits; Reiko ran to the door behind her and slammed it shut.

The girl continued to laugh from behind the door. Reiko, confused and frightened ran away from the room and stopped at the entrance to the atrium as something caught her attention. In the upper left corner was a type of balcony. She edged forward slightly onto the first step and saw the bottom of a pale peach fabric above her.

"The malice," a voice echoed. "I have to…get away."

A quick silence and the voice screeched as the kimono swirled about her body, falling to the ground with sickening crunches and snaps. Reiko screamed again and saw in horror that the lady who jumped was rising to her feet, with her head held behind her. Reiko was frozen in horror, she tried to urge herself to move but her feet wouldn't obey. The woman came closer and Reiko could see how mangled her neck was. This sight made her come back to life again and she hurried to the nearest door, once again slamming it behind her. She put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. 'I'm never saying, 'Could this get any worse?' again,' she thought.

She looked around this room. A set of stairs was near the door, but there was a path beside them that she could see in another mirror. 'Stairs or the walkway? Would either of them be safer?' Reiko walked in front of the stairs and looked up. She didn't want to go there, she didn't know why but her mind was screaming at her to not go up there. At this point she didn't want to disagree with anything she felt. So she went around and pulled at the door nearest her. It was locked.

Reiko sighed. "Why can't every door be open here? Who even locked them? It's not like there's a keeper or something." She slammed her hand against the door in anger. "I hate this place. I frigging hate th-…" her voice trailed away as she heard someone else talk beside her.

"Tell Mr. Takamine…the way…to break the curse…"

Reiko turned to her left and saw a brief flash of a lady in a red blouse and black skirt walk down another turn in the hall. She hesitated after the image vanished, but where else could she go? She followed the way the lady had gone and, surprise, she reached another door. As she reached out to open it, the door swung back almost smacking her in the face. Reiko jumped back and fell to the floor.

* * *

Michiko yawned loudly and stretched her arms. She took out the ipod earphones she forgot were in her ears. As she took them out, they emitted a loud static. Michiko stared in wonder at the ipod. The static slowly changed into talking, but it was too low to hear even turned up all the way. Michiko put one piece into her ear and listened to the low murmuring.

"The ritual has failed…the Shrine Maiden could not fulfill her duties…Malice will come to the earth…if only there were _another_…"

"Ritual? Which one?" Michiko asked, remembering the books she found in the study. She latched the ipod onto her skirt with its small clip and put the other earphone in her ear after turning the small music player off. "This might help a bit. Now I can hear those…things. Maybe even that lady too so she won't surprise me like that."

"We're not _things_," a voice said. "And you won't be able to hear Kirie. Maybe her thoughts from the past…" his voice trailed.

Michiko looked up at the voice. A young man stood in front of her. His outline was a little blurry but he could have almost passed for human. She stared at him. 'Why does he look familiar?' The white shirt, black pants, messy hair…it reminded her of somebody. But she didn't care about that now.

"Why can I see you!" Michiko shouted. "Reiko and I, we don't have powers! Why can I see you!"

"Your sister doesn't have powers?" the man asked calmly. Michiko shook her head. "Maybe…that's not important now. You two have to get out!"

"No duh. How? The entrance is locked and I don't know where Reiko is!"

"She's not far. And for right now…she's alright." Michiko opened her mouth, but the man cut her off. "If I were you I'd be more worried about yourself. She can see them, you can't and the both of you are defenseless. With Kirie looking for both of you…it's only a matter of time before she chooses one of you."

"You're not making sense. Chooses one of us?" Michiko said, standing up. The man couldn't have been much older than her when he died. "Look, can you tell me what's going on here? This is very confusing."

"If you had time, I would. You need to get away from here…go to the moon shrine. It'll be safer there. For a little while anyway," the man stopped as if he had just remembered something. "Damn! That door's locked and Kirie's broke the seal. Where could you go?" he paused again in thought. Michiko wanted to yell at him, but he was helping her. She couldn't complain that much. "The anteroom. Go there."

"Anteroom? I have no idea where that is." Michiko groaned. Her wrists were starting to hurt for some reason. She looked down at them and saw the burns were coming back. The man looked down to see the problem and frowned.

"You already have the mark. Not good."

"Mark?"

"Look, follow my directions. Go to the anteroom. Go through that door," he pointed to the door behind Michiko. "…go across the walkway to a door at the end. There'll be stairs in that room, go up them. You'll see half a wall with bars in the center, go around there and open the small door. That's the anteroom. Got it?" Michiko nodded. "Don't worry about your sister; I'll try to get her there too. Now go! Now!" the man vanished.

Michiko scratched her head. 'Should I trust him? After all…' Her thought was interrupted when the ipod clicked on automatically. This voice came in louder; it was nearer than the other one.

"There's no one here…"

Michiko felt a chill. Deciding that anywhere was better than here, she ran to the door. The voice could still be heard outside, so Michiko kept running. She paused at the entrance to the atrium and looked around briefly. 'I saw this place upstairs.' With that thought she ran to the door across from her, up the stairs in there, around the wall, and she went through the small door. Michiko snapped it shut behind her and sat on the floor. She waited patiently for the man to come back, and tried to remember where she had seen him. 'He said that he'd bring Reiko back with him. That's good. I hope she's alright…'

* * *

Reiko stood up carefully and rubbed her thigh. 'That's going to leave a bruise,' she thought. She almost went through the door when she heard another door slam. It had to be the entrance door. Panicking, Reiko closed the door as quietly as she could and held it shut. When she faintly heard another one close, she let the handle go. She tuned around and saw the strangest room, by far, in this house. It reminded her of a huge aquarium. The whole room dripped and creaked. Reiko looked at the ground. It was slippery and the only way to the other islands was a thin strip of wood that could have been there for ages.

As fast and careful as she could, Reiko went over the first board. This was the only time she was glad her vision was grainy. The water below her smelled terrible, she was afraid to find out the actual color of it. She crossed the other two the same way she had done the first. Only when she reached the door did she feel something was nearby. Without hesitating she went through the door, not wanting to see another ghost. Reiko walked into some sort of garden and for some reason she was able to relax here. The air was nice; the only problem was that it had to be night because it was even harder for her to see clear outlines. She stumbled a few times before finding a door at the end by some stones that must have marked graves.

Reiko walked forward again, stumbling and once hitting a tree. She was glad to see some stairs, a minute later, which led to a small building at the top. She walked carefully up the stairs and reached the doors for the building. She pushed them open, stepped back in case they would swing back and try to hit her, and glanced inside. Here it was far harder to see, it was pitch black.

"Don't go in there!" a man shouted.

Reiko turned around just in time to see an outline before she was pushed into the dark room. The door slammed shut behind her, locking her in. Reiko gasped and pushed against them.

"Hey! Let me out!" she shouted, pounding on the door now. "Hey! Are you still out there? Help me out!"

Reiko kept pounding on the doors while the man outside tried to open them. "I can't!" he shouted to Reiko. "Kirie must have locked…!"

"Kirie? Who's that?" Reiko asked, she felt that the man was gone but she still called out. "Hey! Come back here!"

"He won't come back…"

Reiko turned around, dreading whose voice that it belonged to. She saw the lady in the white kimono standing in front of another mirror. 'That's Kirie?' Kirie walked in front of Reiko, stopping inches away from her again. Reiko was frozen in place again, terrified of what the lady was going to do to her. 'She has to be the one who gave me that power to see those ghosts,' she thought suddenly. 'When she grabbed my arm…' At the thought of when Kirie grabbed her arm, the sudden pain came back and she whined. Kirie smiled at her pain and grabbed the other arm.

"You'll suffer…just as I have…"

* * *

Ta-da! End of chapter 2. Told you I'd have it done by tomorrow! That's how much free time I have. Well, I'm not sure if any questions were answered in this one. scratches head The next one should definitely answer some. 


	3. Chapter 3

_Hmmm...here I am on Chapter 3. Thanks to bryangzc for the first review. And the cookie! Yumminess. Also thanks to Steeple333 for the second! People like it, yay! And, yes, answers are in this one. Such as why Kirie's back._

_So I'll switch my writing again, with this whole chapter being dedicated only to Michiko, her memories and her conversation with Mafuyu. Also, the flashbacks might remind people of Fatal Frame 2. Consider it a crossover idea then, even though it's not. It has nothing to do with Crimson Butterfly. Ok, now I'm rambling, here's outline:_

_Michiko dwells on the past with everything that's happened. For some reason, it feels like a strong case of déjà vu. Mafuyu tells her the whole history of the mansion. Why Kirie comes back and why another Maiden needs to be chosen sparks a forgotten memory in Michiko..._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_Reiko ran up ahead, her white dress flowing behind her. Michiko tried to catch up to her, but it was impossible, she was too fast._

"_Reiko, slow down! We don't want to get lost here!" Michiko shouted._

_Michiko grabbed onto a tree and looked around. It was too hard to see anything with all the trees here. She heard Reiko laugh far away, so she trudged forward slowly on the dirt._

"_Reiko, we really need to go back to the village. Mom and dad are probably worried about us. We've been gone for two hours. Reiko!"_

_Exhausted, Michiko came across a bend and a small clearing in the trees. She turned into the open area and saw her younger sister across a faded wooden bridge. She was going up the stairs that led to a giant mansion. The mansion was a giant in her ten year old mind and Reiko was like an ant going to the mound._

"_Reiko, what are you doing? We shouldn't be here! Let's go back, please!" Michiko pleaded to her sister, realizing where they were. The' haunted' mansion._

_Reiko acted as though she couldn't hear her sister. Frantically, Michiko ran over the bridge and up the stairs to her. When she reached her, Michiko grabbed her hand and jerked her backwards almost sending her toppling. Reiko steadied herself and she tore her eyes away from the building._

"_What?" Reiko asked sleepily. "Michiko, what's going on?"_

_Michiko blinked at her sister's reaction. 'She doesn't know what's happened? How?' She tugged at her sister's hand. "Let's go. Our parents are probably worried."_

"_Do you know how to get back?"_

_Michiko sighed and shrugged. "No idea. But we'll get back," she added, seeing her sister's sad face. "It can't be that hard, right? Besides, they're probably looking for us right now."_

_Reiko smiled brightly and skipped down the stairs and over the bridge with Michiko following closely behind. Michiko took one last glance at the old building. She could have sworn that she saw a woman wearing white in the doorway. She blinked and the vision was gone. _

"_Michiko?" Reiko asked skeptically._

_Michiko turned around to face Reiko. "I'm coming," she said smiling. _

* * *

Michiko looked away from the door as the memory faded away. 'Why did I remember that?' she thought. 'We were here when we were younger? Strange. I never thought of it till now.' The ipod clicked over again, but Michiko was ready to ignore the voice in her ears. The device clicked over almost every thirty seconds now, but she didn't seem to care much anymore. The thought of getting Reiko back and getting out of the mansion was all that she cared about now. No ghosts were going to dent that thought.

"I don't want to die!" a voice cried through the earphones.

Michiko started slightly at how near the voice was. It had to be right next to her. She turned to her right but didn't see anything there. In the corner of her eye, she saw a small note fall from the drawer as she started to turn back around. Michiko stared at it apprehensively before sliding across the floor to pick it up. As soon as she grabbed it, she felt a throbbing in the back of her head, as if something smacked her hard. In pain, she yelped out and her vision went cloudy again, just like it did in the walkway. Michiko backed away to the wall and grasped the handle of the small door for fear of the woman coming back.

"No way can she be here! She just can't!" Michiko muttered. "There's just no way! She hasn't found me for hours."

Michiko glanced up but saw a different 'person' than what she had expected. This girl wore a pure white kimono and her black hair went almost to her waist. Her hands cupped her face so that Michiko couldn't see it. Her voice was choked when she talked through her sobs.

"I don't want to die! And that man…the priests had no right! I can't die now…not after everything that's happened. I don't want it to fail…"

The vision disappeared and Michiko stared in confusion at what had just happened.

"Who…who was that?"

Michiko looked at the note in her hand. 'Strange, it looks a lot like Reiko's writing. But the extra curls aren't there.' She tried to read what it said but she couldn't, the writing was smeared. 'Is that…blood?' Michiko wondered, looking at the dark blotched stains in the paper. She put the paper in her bag, carefully, not wanting to fold it since it looked quite old.

"Where'd you get that?" the man asked.

Michiko turned around, surprised. "Can you not do that! It freaks me out! I don't know if you're that woman or not! Open a door or something."

He took a step back from Michiko and watched her warily, in case she started yelling again. She looked down at his feet before she looked up to talk again.

"Wait, where's Reiko? You said you'd bring her back here."

"I said that I'd _try _to bring her back. It didn't work. Kirie found her, and now she probably has her."

Michiko stared in disbelief. "Kirie? That lady in the kimono? The one I saw in my dream?"

"Were you paying attention when I first talked to you?" he asked irritably. "I gave you her name. I told you that you wouldn't be able to hear her with your…thing. Only her memories."

Michiko frowned. 'What is he? He's like a genius or a smartass. Or both. Yeah, I'd go with both.' She looked at the ground absentmindedly. So many thoughts were in her head, so many questions. Which one to ask first?

"You never told me your name," she muttered. "I think I should know that. And what's going on here…and why I and my sister are 'chosen.' You didn't say what that meant either."

"We'd be here for a while if you want to know all of that." He said, tiredly. 'Can ghosts get tired?' Michiko wondered.

"It's not like we're going anywhere. So, I think you have more than 'a while.'" Michiko said, leaning against the wall to get comfortable.

The man sighed. "Mafuyu. That's my name. Mafuyu Hinasaki."

Michiko blinked. She remembered being in the library, reading old newspaper transcripts, and finding one about the Hinasaki case. She had looked at a picture of the man before her with his name underneath. 'Why didn't I remember the name, but I remembered the picture? Typical me, remember how people looked but not what their name was.'

"That's why you looked familiar," Michiko explained to him as he looked confused at her expression. "I saw your photo in the library when I was researching for my report."

"Oh, with my disappearance. I never thought they would put me in the paper. A picture anyway," Mafuyu paused. "Your second question was about what's happening here. Do you know about the rituals that were performed here?"

"Uh… there's one about blinding and one about strangling. That's why I came here, to find out about them."

'Guess I will now, huh?' she thought. 'Least I don't have to read.'

"The blinding ritual was performed to find the next maiden who would be the sacrifice in the strangling ritual." Mafuyu explained. "The strangling ritual was used to seal the Hell Gate, so Malice wouldn't spill onto the earth. When it was Kirie's turn to perform the ritual, it failed." He paused. "The maiden is cut off from the world, to make sure that she has no attachments to it when she is sacrificed. Only a pure maiden's sacrifice could assure the fact that the ritual wouldn't fail and the Malice would be prevented from tainting the earth."

"Why did Kirie's ritual fail?" Michiko asked, thinking back to the memory of the woman in the white kimono.

"Because, she fell in love with a visitor to the mansion. Shortly after, the priests were ordered by the master to kill him. Kirie felt so guilty that she believed that she had caused the man's death. With that thought haunting her, the ritual failed. She came back with the Malice as the ghost you see now, filled with anger. She killed everyone in the mansion then, and killed anyone who visited this place afterwards."

"But," Michiko interrupted. "I thought that the killings stopped when Miku left this mansion." She remembered reading another article a few years later that reported no one had died in the mansion when another research group visited it.

"They did," Mafuyu said calmly, trying not to lose his temper with the girl. "But something changed nine years ago…when you and your sister wandered here. Reiko…something about her made Kirie come back as she had in the past, even though she finished the ritual when Miku and I were here. The Malice was strong when your sister came near the house, and all the ghosts felt it. They all stayed near the entrance as Kirie stood outside. I did too. All of us could feel Kirie's anger as it was in the past. Something changed," he repeated quietly, as if to himself. "I was the first to realize it. Could I have prevented this?"

Michiko stared as Mafuyu continued to talk to himself. 'What is he talking about? This is all my and Reiko's fault? No way. It can't be our fault, we did nothing wrong.' Michiko let her head drop and she closed her eyes. She wasn't tired, but the pain in her head was coming back and it was worse than before. Mafuyu looked over to her and saw her clutch her head.

"Hey, you alright?" Mafuyu asked stepping forward. "What's wrong? Michiko?"

Michiko wondered how he knew her name, but the pain was too excruciating for her to even think straight. She felt the pain in her wrists too. 'Is she near?' Michiko felt a cold on her shoulder and it chilled her. Her eyes snapped open and the gray colored memories poured into her head.

* * *

_The woman in the white kimono was held against a large door with ropes tied to her wrists. Every time the door tried to open, she would scream and it would close. The process kept repeating as Mafuyu stood near her and watched in sadness at it. _

"_Why did you stay?" Kirie asked. "You could have left with your sister...not stay and watch for all time."_

_Mafuyu smiled. "I couldn't leave. I knew that Miku would be fine, but I had to stay with you. You can't be expected to do this by yourself. I've told you this so many times, Kirie."_

_Kirie smiled before she screamed again. "Someone's here."_

_Mafuyu looked at Kirie in confusion. "How do you know?"_

"_I can feel the power from her. It's so familiar."_

"_Power?"_

"_Of a Shrine Maiden. Each has a noticeable...power. It's...hard to describe. Power might...not be the best word...to describe the feeling."_

"_Like a sixth sense?"_

"_I...it might be." Kirie paused in thought. 'With her...it might finally...the both of us...could leave.'_

_A loud rumble from behind the door caused Mafuyu to back away. He went through a large pile of rocks, but came back a minute later, struggling against the rumbling._

"_Kirie? What's going on? It's never rumbled like that before. Are you alright?"_

_Kirie looked up at the rocky ceiling and smiled slightly. Her mouth moved but no sound came out. Mafuyu walked to the door and looked up at her, yelling her name. Kirie looked down at him with the same smile. The ropes holding her broke loose and the door crashed open. Mafuyu was forced backward by the darkness and he flew through the rocks, almost falling off the edge of the thin walkway. He pushed himself to the opening and saw that Kirie was nowhere to be seen. _

"_Kirie?" Mafuyu shouted, holding his side. "Where are you?"_

_A strange feeling washed over him. It wasn't a good feeling. He disappeared from the caved-in area and appeared in the entrance. He turned around and very briefly saw Kirie's kimono go through the door. He ran toward it to follow her but stopped and looked around. The hall was suddenly full of all the ghosts who died here. He looked over them and saw the same expectant expression on their faces. _

"_Reiko!" he heard a girl yell from behind the door. _

_Mafuyu tried to go through the door but couldn't. The door wouldn't open either. On the other side he could sense anger, the same anger he felt when he first encountered Kirie in the rope hallway._

"_Kirie!" _

_He stepped back as she came through the door. Every ghost around him vanished leaving the both of them alone. Kirie's eyes were glued to the floor and the same smile she had from under the house was still there._

"_I've found one...the perfect replacement. She'll come back...I know she will, and when she does..." Kirie muttered softly._

_Mafuyu stood in front of her but she walked around him absentmindedly. He turned around and saw her flash into the same being he saw years ago. Mafuyu stepped back in surprise and watched Kirie pass through the wall. _

* * *

Michiko took a deep breath and almost fell onto the floor. Her eyes closed again as she tried to control her shaking. 'A replacement? Is Reiko the replacement?' Michiko stood up shakily and leaned against the drawer. She looked around the room, but didn't see Mafuyu.

"Mafuyu," she said weakly. "Where are you?"

Without Mafuyu, Michiko felt unprotected for some reason. It was the same feeling she had when she and Reiko were younger and Reiko would run off. Michiko waited for her heart to stop beating as rapidly as it was, before she went to the little door. She opened it and walked into the stairwell. The ipod clicked over yet again, but she ignored it as she could barely hear the noise. Michiko turned the corner and looked in front of her to see a small set of stairs she never saw before. She looked up from the ground, to see where they led and to her shock saw someone standing at the top of them. Michiko blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Reiko stood in front of her.

"Reiko!" Michiko shouted happily, running up to her. "You're ok."

As she reached the top step and held her hands out to hug her sister, Reiko's image blurred. Michiko stood frozen on the last step as her sister's image changed into Kirie's. Kirie smiled at her, from under her hair that covered her face, and grabbed her outstretched wrists, sending shooting pain through Michiko's body.

"You cannot stop the ritual…it's already begun…"

* * *

_Yep, finally an answer or two, or three. Well, the next chapter will be all Reiko's. That's going to be insane. Well, is it still likeable? _


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4's basically the same as Chapter 3, except instead of being Michiko's chapter it's going to be...(dramatic pause)...Reiko's! The same timeline goes, so while Michiko's talking to Mafuyu, Reiko's wandering around looking for Michiko. _

_Overview: Reiko is slowly going insane, (I've always wanted a story with an insane person in it, finally my dream's come true!) with Kirie stalking her, the ghosts trying to kill her to prevent her from leaving, and with the rope burns silently draining her life, she starts to believe she can't handle it. The only thing keeping her alive and from not succumbing to her 'fated destiny' is the fact Michiko's looking for her. But is she really, or is she going to leave Reiko behind and save herself...?_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_Chanting filled Reiko's ears..._

_The cold, bloodstained wheel-like table she was strapped down onto was uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as the five ropes tied to her neck, wrists, and ankles. She looked around at the four priests who had their hands on the pulleys, which had the ropes she was tied with wrapped tightly around them. Reiko raised her head slightly to look behind her and saw the master grasp the pulley that held the rope to her neck. She avoided looking at the mask that he wore at all costs, it terrified her, but she knew it was the master from the clothes. Without any warning the men started to move the pulleys, tightening the grip of the ropes. _

_Reiko screamed as she felt her skin pull away..._

_The blood that coursed through her veins slowed..._

"_Don't," Reiko whispered inaudibly, as the men paused momentarily. "Stop...please..."_

_The master and the priests pulled harder and Reiko screamed one last time as her bones crunched and her blood spilled..._

* * *

Reiko bolted upright, still screaming. She breathed rapidly and brushed the sweat from her eyes. As she put her hands down on the floor, she could see ropes dangle from them and looking down at her ankles she could see the same thing. Reiko tried not to scream again at the sights, so she cried silently. As her tears stopped she heard noises from behind the kimonos next to her. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stood up quickly. Reiko walked behind the nearest one and peered through the small gaps between the two hanging kimonos. A man stood in front of the door and looked around anxiously. Reiko held her breath for fear of being noticed by the stranger, but she wasn't, instead he walked to the other side of the room where there was a drawer.

Reiko backed away from the kimonos to catch a clear view of the man to see what he was doing. He leaned in front of the drawer and searched the floor for something.

"I have to find the key…where is it?" he muttered, his voice was far away though he was two feet from Reiko. "I left it here…I had to have."

The man turned, disappointed, and left the way he came. Reiko followed his path and looked down at the drawer. 'That's where I found the key,' she thought. 'It had a strange locking mechanism though. I'm surprised I thought of it.' She turned and came across the door. She put her hands on it, about to slide it open, when a sudden freeze made her think twice about going into the next room. Curious, she opened the door a crack and watched what was happening behind.

The man looked behind him in shock and ran to something out of Reiko's view. She decided he hid into the closet because she heard a door slide open, but not shut. The cold came nearer and Kirie came into Reiko's view. She almost fell back in fear and surprise, but remembered that this had to be a memory since the man hadn't seen her and that he wasn't a ghost…yet. Kirie went straight to the closet and Reiko heard the man's painful yell and bones crunch. Her hand went to her mouth and the vision slowly vanished.

After getting over the shock of the memory, Reiko decided to get out of the kimono room. 'I should go to the entrance,' she thought, somewhat happily. 'Maybe Michiko will be there.' Reiko was about to slide open the door when a hand grabbed her wrist. Startled, Reiko screamed and backed away from the door. The man who she had seen a moment ago stood in front of the door, slowly pushing it open, with his other hand writhing through the gap to grab Reiko. When Reiko saw the man in the doorway fully, she knew that this wasn't a memory, this was his spirit. And he wasn't happy. Reiko stared in surprise how much his appearance could change from being dead. His clothes were in tatters and he had bloody gashes on his limbs, where rope burns could still faintly be seen in the blurry apparition.

His arms reached out to Reiko, and he was about to grab her neck when she made a sudden decision to run through him. 'Well, you _are_ dead, so this shouldn't hurt either of us.' Reiko put her hands up to face, instinctively, and dived through him. She screamed at the painful chill and crashed to the floor in shock. The ghost turned around slowly and passed back across the kimono he went through. Reiko turned her head to see how close he was, and pushed herself to her feet. Half crouching from the pain, she ran out the door into the hallway with the votive lamps. Not wanting to find out if he could phase through the walls, she ran to the door that led into the broken fireplace room. In here, Reiko relaxed slightly at the realization that there were no spirits in this room. She went through the rope hall and stopped after entering in the entrance hall.

The room was still in disrepair and the only light was from the lone candle by the stairs. Reiko walked carefully past the giant hole, not wanting to fall through it, and walked down the small set of stairs. She tried to push the doors open again, but they were still stuck, just like when Reiko tried the same thing when the doors slammed shut on them when they first came in. She went to different areas of the doors, but felt something across them. Reiko grabbed the rope and moved away so the light could shine onto it. 'No wonder I didn't see this when I tried to open the doors,' she thought as she looked at them more closely. 'They're the same color as the door, which is a gray for me.'

"How long do I have to see this stuff!" Reiko shouted at the ceiling. "Ghosts, memories, and all in gray! I want to get out of here, now!" Reiko kicked the door in anger and pounded her fist against it. "Where's Michiko? I can't leave here without her. Damn it! Someone answer me! Why can't we leave?"

No voice answered her. Reiko sighed sadly and was about to go back into the rope hall when a chill came back. Her hand tightened against the door and she waited for the ghost to sigh or speak or make any noise. But there wasn't any. Reiko turned her head and saw Kirie hovering over the hole. Reiko tried to open the door, but it wouldn't move either. Finally something snapped in Reiko, she was tired of being afraid and tired of being chased by ghosts. Her hand left the door and she faced Kirie defiantly.

"What the hell do you want?" Reiko asked, her temper rising. "I'm tired of you and your freaky friends chasing me and trying to kill me. Just let me and my sister get out of here! Why are you even keeping us here!"

Kirie floated over to Reiko and stayed a few inches away from her. Reiko didn't budge at all; she continued to stay in the same spot.

"You can't leave," Kirie hissed. "The ritual…it has to be finished." With that, Kirie vanished.

"That explains everything. Without that helpful sentence, I'd never have figured this out." Reiko paused. "This is driving me nuts! Everything about this place is insane!"

Reiko pushed her hair back and looked at the door again. 'No way out, huh?' Reiko felt dizzy and exhausted all of a sudden. There was no real place to lie down so she fell to the floor in front of the door. With her back against the door, she slowly fell asleep.

* * *

"_I want to be able...to leave. Me...and Mafuyu both. I want the both of us...to leave and to move on." Kirie whispered._

_She stood in front of a giant door that had a black smoke-like substance flowing out of it. Her hands were in front of her and seemed to be in some sort of prayer position, her black hair blew as if there was air coming from the door, and her white kimono shone brightly against the all black setting. _

"_I found...the perfect substitute. She can perform the ritual...and it won't fail like mine did back then. I just need time...for her to come back and for her to grow up. Just wait...please...she'll be perfect."_

_The ground rumbled as an answer. Kirie looked up at the giant doorway and smiled, almost insanely. Her figure changed and she was the same hateful being that chased Reiko. _

"_That's right...just a few more years and she'll come back. She'll set the both of us free..."_

"_Is that what you want?"_

_Kirie turned and saw Mafuyu standing by the Holy Mirror stand. She opened her mouth to talk, but he cut her off._

"_You'll risk someone else's life so that we can leave? That's not what you would do. You wouldn't have ever thought of something that extreme. You wanted to stay here, and finish the ritual. You wanted to permanently stop the Malice and set all the souls free."_

"_I wanted to. Now I've thought more about it, and I don't want this fate."_

"_You were destined for it!" Mafuyu shouted, taking a small step forward, trying to avoid the darkness._

"_I didn't want it," Kirie said coldly. "I never wanted to die."_

"_You can't change that. You're dead. So am I. That won't change. So, just leave it as it is."_

"_I won't," she stood in front of him. "I'll wait for her to come back...the ritual has to be performed properly and she's not of age yet. She's the right age to be chosen...and I've chosen her."_

"_How do you know that she'll come back?" Mafuyu asked confused. "For all you know she doesn't live nearby, she could be visiting."_

"_She'll come back," Kirie brushed past him and vanished. "I told her to...she'll come back."_

_Mafuyu stood there frozen for a few minutes later. He was amazed at how much Kirie changed and he was starting to become fearful of that. He was also confused about her last sentence. He walked back upstairs, thinking about what he could do, if he could do anything, to stop Kirie._

* * *

_The memory faded and another invaded Reiko's thoughts…in this one it was a dark expanse, Reiko was the only thing there. She stepped forward and tried to see into the darkness but it was impossible._

"_What now?" Reiko asked, her voice echoing._

_A white light caused Reiko to shield her eyes, and Kirie stood before her, not as the angry spirit but as the peaceful one. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and Reiko could see how similar they looked. Not exactly the same, as if it were a mirror image, but still close enough that they could be relatives._

"_Reiko Tetsuya, I've been waiting for almost ten years."_

_Reiko stepped back, worried that Kirie might attack her. "You've been waiting? For ten years? For me?"_

"_Yes, you are the perfect sacrifice. An outsider, you have no real ties to this world."_

_Reiko stared in wonder. 'No ties? Of course I have ties to this world, I have family, friends, what does she mean?' Kirie smiled at her. 'Is she reading my mind?' Kirie nodded._

"_No secrets in the darkness, Reiko."_

"_Fine," Reiko sighed. "What do you mean by no ties? I have ties. And how could you tell, you saw me when I was seven, I changed a lot since then."_

"_It's hard to explain, but I...I...I talked to you when you first came here. Do you remember?"_

_Reiko laughed. "Right, I remember all conversations I have with a ghost."_

"_You could see me. I didn't think that you would, you have no sixth sense, as Mafuyu called it. You could only see me if you have the same...aura that all Shrine Maidens have. The same aura that prevents the Blind demon from catching the maiden until last."_

"_An aura? Is this...aura...the cause for me seeing all those ghosts?"_

"_...Possibly. This aura binds you close to the maidens, to me; I can see them because I am dead, and so you must be able to see them from when I grabbed you. When I first grabbed you in the rope hall, the power in you was awakened. That's the best logical thing I can think of."_

"_You're killing me," Reiko muttered abruptly, looking down at her wrists at the rope burns imprinted in her skin._

"_Do you remember what I said to you then?" Kirie asked kindly, trying to change the subject. Reiko shook her head. "Your death will spare the souls of many."_

"_I feel honored," she said sarcastically._

"_You should. Without you, this mansion will never rest."_

"_It rested when Miku left this mansion."_

"_Things have changed since Miku left," Kirie said darkly._

"_Michiko and I are leaving. You're not keeping us here, and I'm not dying because you want to leave."_

_Kirie paused in thought before talking. "Michiko already left."_

"_What?" Reiko asked, shocked. "She wouldn't leave without me!"_

_Kirie smiled sadly and waved her hand. The darkness around them faded and the entrance hall came into view with Kirie and Reiko in the middle of the room. Reiko stared confused at what happened, but was jerked back when the door from the rope hall opened. Michiko stumbled out wearily, clutching her side and taking deep breaths. She walked over to the door and pulled on it. To her surprise, it opened. Michiko laughed happily at the light. She stepped outside and turned back to face the house. She stared right where Reiko and Kirie stood, but Reiko knew she couldn't see either of them._

"_I'm sorry, Reiko. I don't know...where you are," Michiko panted. "I don't know if you can hear me...but I'm sorry. Forgive me." She shut the door._

_Reiko started to breathe heavily. Michiko left without her. 'My own sister, left me here? All alone?' Reiko fell to the floor and started to cry. Kirie hovered over her and placed her hand on her shoulder. Reiko shirked away from her and walked to the door. She slammed her palms into it, no pain coming from the image._

"_My own sister," she choked. "She left me here. I have no one else...no one..."_

"_I told you that your ties were severed from this world." _

_Reiko started to laugh quietly. "No one...no one's here except me...and ghosts...no one will care that I'm gone...Damn them!" she slammed her hand against the door. "I have no reason...to live...anymore..."_

* * *

Reiko woke up, lying under the angry mask on the wall. She looked at the exit and remembered seeing her sister leave. Reiko started to laugh quietly to herself and stood up carefully, not thinking about how she was moved across the room. She went to the door to the rope hall and took the left door instead, not surprised that it was open. Her body moved mechanically, she felt like she wasn't in control of anything except her laughter. Her eyes roved the great hall and she could see many ghosts lined up, watching her intently. As she came closer to the door, she could see the four priests and the ceremony master waiting. They turned and led the way to the shrine in the atrium. Reiko paused before going up the stairs. She turned around and looked at the surroundings. Cold…empty.

"Michiko's…gone…I have the chance…to finish what needs…to be done. The final sacrifice…"

* * *

_So, the end of chapter 4. I had an extreme case of blockage, but I got over it! Reiko didn't come out as insane as I wanted, she came out almost Sae-ish. Sorry! Is it still good, even with that? _

_Next is obviously chapter 5. I'm still thinking on adding alternate endings or not. I don't know. If anyone has an idea about that, please tell me!_


	5. Chapter 5 Ending pt 1

_So, here's what I'm going to do...there are going to be three different endings on this story. I can't choose the favorite of either idea so they'll all be written. The next idea is that there will be another view than just Michiko's and Reiko's. Obviously, Kirie's. So the next endings will have her thoughts as well as the two sisters' stories. I hope that'll make sense. Kirie has first person and Reiko and Michiko have third. Easy?_

_Reiko believes that she is the next Shrine Maiden and is already on her way to the altar on which she'll die, the ghosts following her and pushing her to continue. Michiko chases after her sister in an attempt to stop her from doing what Kirie wants. Kirie tries to stop Michiko, but by doing so she'll have to release her hold on Reiko which is what she definitely doesn't want to do.

* * *

_

**Chapter 5- Ending 1**

**Kirie**

_How I long to kill the other girl. Why don't I? Reiko already believes her to be gone, so she can die under that pretense. But Mafuyu, how stupid he is. Stalling me in every imaginable way, preventing me from completing my goal, our goal. He should want to leave, but still he refuses. He wants the two girls to go free and for me to go back to my duty. I won't...not now, it's so close...no matter what he and the other girl do...it'll be too late. My replacement is being purified at this very moment. What can they do to stop it? Nothing._

_I have waited so long, so long for this girl to arrive; now she has. She'll fulfill the duty; I know that she will, it won't fail, not like mine. Then I can leave this terrible place. Anything else that happens after is not my concern. It would be Reiko's, the last Shrine Maiden. As for her sister...I'll make sure that the others prevent her from getting to the shrine.

* * *

_

**Michiko**

Michiko rubbed her head as she sat up against the wall. She was in the stairway that she had just seen Kirie. At this memory, Michiko stood up fast and hurried down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, she fell to her knees and tried not to throw up. Her vision was blurred and even a bit discolored, grayish, and she had a terrible knot in her stomach. Her hand flew up to her mouth and she tried to control her breathing. Thoughts of Reiko passed through her mind at lightning speed and she started to panic more. The ipod had clicked over again, the voice sounding as if it were on the other side of the door. Her eyes went to it and to her shock she saw a hand pass through the solid door as if it were water.

Michiko stood up quickly again, sending her head into another dizzying fit. The rest of the ghost came into her view and she saw that it was a man with horrifyingly long arms. She dodged his hand as he grasped at her ankles, where there could be faint ropes seen before they faded away. Michiko decided not to worry about that and thought that the best place to run to would be the small anteroom. She ran up the stairs, two at a time, with the ghastly man trailing inches behind her. As she reached the top she turned the corner quickly, the man rushing through the wall. Michiko opened the door and crawled quickly through. She slammed the small door behind her just as the man almost wrapped his hand around her ankle. To her great relief, the man couldn't or wouldn't go through the wall into the anteroom.

Michiko sat on the floor for a short while wondering how she could suddenly see the beings only a short while ago she could only hear. Her breathing slowly returned to normal and her dizziness had gone away too. She fixed her skirt absentmindedly and looked around the room for fear there would be a ghost behind her. The room looked exactly the same except for there being a gray twinge to everything. 'Your sister has no powers? …she can them, you can't…'

"Is that what Mafuyu meant?" she whispered to herself. "Reiko could see these things? Just like this? Damn, how?" Michiko pulled the earphones from her ears and hung them loosely on her neck. "What's the use of wearing these things if I can see them too?"

She reached in her bag, which she had forgotten in the room, and grabbed her water bottle. She drank very slowly and rested against the drawers, not wanting to be near any walls. 'Mafuyu, where'd that bastard get off to?' she thought. 'He should be here, helping me figure this out. I'm not leaving without Reiko. There's no way.'

* * *

**Kirie**

_I can't believe what I've done! That girl, the sister, she can see the ghosts in this place too! Mafuyu...his distractions must have made me do it. No matter, she can't run from them forever. They can worry about her; I need to concentrate on Reiko. If she even forgets for a moment what she's doing, it'll be almost impossible to get her back.

* * *

_

**Reiko**

Reiko stared at the gaping hole in the moon shrine. Her thoughts went to the rusty ladder and she wondered if it was safe to climb down. 'I don't want to fall down that, I might break my neck.' She felt a nudge in her back and she turned around. One of the priests stood behind her and she could see that he was irritated. She knew that she was here for some reason, but she didn't know what the reason was. Her mind was foggy; all she could remember was wandering hopelessly around the mansion looking for…

"You need to continue the ritual," a voice whispered.

Reiko turned around and saw the ceremony master. She gasped as she looked at the mask and saw the woman's head he held by the hair.

"What?" she screamed. "Ritual? What the hell's…?"

"Reiko," someone muttered. "It's important for you to continue. Without you the Hell Gate will open. Do you remember?"

Reiko turned back around and saw a girl about her age in a pure white kimono and with long black hair. Their faces were similar. She backed away but was pushed lightly back by the priests.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Reiko whispered.

"Yes you do," the girl suddenly appeared by her side.

Reiko jumped and watched the girl carefully. The girl held out her hand and grabbed Reiko's wrist. A memory flashed in her head of a giant door crashing open and black smoke billowing out. For some reason, this memory made her realize that she had to hold the gate back. Her hand dropped to her side and she glanced at the hole before looking back at the girl.

"You have to be purified by the moon," she explained, pointing at another hole in the ceiling. "This will make sure that when you are sacrificed…you're pure." She faltered, but Reiko nodded in understanding. "So, you remember what you must do?"

"I have to die," Reiko said, emotionless. "Ropes…around my limbs…that'll close the Hell Gate and the Malice won't flow out."

The girl smiled and nodded. She pointed down at the hole and Reiko walked carefully to the edge. She turned around and grasped the bars tightly with some metal smearing onto her hands. Slowly, she climbed down without any thoughts that were her own. All she cared about was that the village needed her to die. When she reached the bottom, her feet stepped into puddles of water. Reiko smiled and her body moved to stand where the moon was positioned above her. 'It'll be over soon…' a voice whispered in her mind.

* * *

**Kirie**

_She tried to resist her fate. That's surprising; I didn't think memories of her sister would come back to her, not until her life was almost torn out of her. I'll have to be more careful then. Who would have thought? Reiko, so close to insanity, would start to think about her terrible life? Huh. At least a few more hours...it'll be over soon.

* * *

_

**Michiko**

"It'll be over soon…"

Michiko looked up. The voice startled her slightly, but it made her remember that she had to get moving. She had no idea where her sister was and she would need as much time as she could to find her. She put her bag on her shoulder and turned the ipod to as loud as it could go so that she could hear it, even though the earphones were around her neck. Sighing as she stood up, she looked at both doors and wondered which would be better.

"Go through the one you came in."

Michiko looked around the whole room, but again, no one was there. She realized who the voice belonged to and slowly stopped panicking.

"Mafuyu, right? Where are you?"

"Upstairs. Reiko's in the moon shrine. You have to hurry to get her!"

"Why are you upstairs?" Michiko asked looking up and noticing a small square block in the wall above the small door.

"Why do you think?" Mafuyu asked irritably. "Trying to stop the ghosts and Kirie from attacking you. More the ghosts than Kirie…This isn't important! Reiko is in the moon shrine! Get down there."

Michiko was about to open the door when she remembered her first conversation with the man. 'Damn! That door's locked and Kirie broke the seal.' Hoping that Mafuyu was still upstairs she shouted at the ceiling.

"You told me that that door's locked! That Kirie broke the seal!"

Silence and then: "How could your sister have gone in there? She had to release the seal for her and with Kirie concentrating wholly on your sister; she had to have forgotten to seal it again. Now, will you go?"

Michiko sighed and wanted to yell at him. 'Oh well, I'll have time to yell at him when this is all done.' She went through the door and was surprised at how calm it was. Not wanting to see if that calm would end. She ran down the stairs and opened the door leading to the atrium. Grabbing inside the bag, Michiko took out a flashlight and turned it on. The outside was completely dark with the moon being the only natural source of light.

Michiko went down the three steps and ran to the shrine. She looked at the door and did see a plate hanging from the door, swinging in the slight breeze. A small tablet was broken in half and could be seen on the top step. Michiko pushed open the door and was half-surprised to see it empty. Only an elaborate shrine, which had slid back to reveal a hole in the ground, was in the bare room. Michiko leaned slightly over the hole and held her flashlight to see what was down there. She could see the bottom, but Reiko wasn't there.

She grabbed the ladder and went down it carefully, not wanting to fall clear off. As she reached the bottom water splashed. She turned behind her and saw a mummy with sacred ropes tied over it. Michiko looked at it, slightly interested but heard a door next to her slam.

"Reiko?" she asked loudly, figuring ghosts had no real use to open doors. "Reiko! Wait a minute!"

She ran to the door and pulled it open. As she stepped into the next area, she gasped in surprise.

* * *

**Reiko**

Reiko turned in surprise as she heard someone shout. She peered around the shadowy figures but couldn't see anyone who looked like they had spoken. Dismissing it, she turned back around, allowing the priests to guide her down the winding path. The ceremony master opened the door. Reiko could see a giant wheel, stained with years old blood, and smiled slightly. They all passed through and the rest of the people stayed behind, but the doors wouldn't close. The priests and the ceremony master turned and wondered why the door wouldn't close. The girl in the kimono came back, and Reiko seemed to be the only one who noticed her. As soon as she started to talk, her appearance changed and it became a woman with ropes around her limbs and with her hair blocking her face.

"What is happening?" she shouted. "Someone close the door! Reiko, get on the altar! Now!"

Reiko paused in confusion. Her mind started to become clearer and she tried to refuse what she was told, but her body moved on its own to the altar.

"REIKO!"

Reiko turned her head as she was about to lie on the altar.

Michiko ran through the ghosts, not caring about the ice cold feeling that she had with every step. She ran into the room and stared at Reiko.

"Don't do it! Please, Reiko, don't." she cried.

"Who…?" Reiko asked blankly.

"She's not important!" Kirie shouted. "Do what I told you! Lay on the altar!"

The ghosts finally closed the door and circled Michiko. She looked at them all warily, but still talked to her sister.

"Don't do this, Reiko. You're not supposed to die. Kirie," Michiko pointed at her. "She died a while back. All she wants is another sacrifice so that she can get out of this place."

Michiko felt a pain in the back of her neck and she fell to the ground on her hands and knees.

"Did you?" Reiko asked Kirie. When she didn't answer, Reiko thought about who the person was who was telling her not to die.

"Reiko, what about mom and dad? What's going to happen to them when you do this?" a pain in her neck made her gasp, but she continued to talk. "Don't…do it…come on…you're smarter than…this. You know what…she's doing to you…don't you? She's controlling you…you haven't been yourself…not since…" she stopped and tried to catch her breath.

The priests tied ropes to Reiko and she was forced onto the altar. No matter what Michiko said, it didn't even cross Reiko's mind. She couldn't even hear what she had said. Michiko tried to cry out but nothing would except weak gasps. Kirie stood over her and lifted her head.

"You'll see your sister die," she said with a laugh. "Think about all this time you spent on a worthless cause. There was nothing you could do, you failed."

Michiko tried to look away, but Kirie's hands were tightly held onto her cheeks. The ropes were starting to tighten around Reiko's limbs as the priests and the master moved the wheels. Reiko started to yell in pain and her pulse was starting to weaken. Michiko started to cry and cursed Kirie with every gasping breath. The five men stopped briefly and Reiko whispered faintly, but Michiko could still hear it.

"Michiko…I'm…sorry."

"NO!" Michiko was able to shout as the men gave one last turn.

The bones cracked and Reiko's legs arms and head were separated from her body. Blood splurted onto the wheel and some even reached Michiko. Kirie let go of the girl's face and left through the other door. The priests and the master untied the small knots from the four limbs; the head had rolled off from the ropes and was only a few feet from Michiko. The men followed Kirie through the same door, leaving Michiko alone with Reiko's broken body.

* * *

**Kirie**

_It's done. The sacrifice was successfully performed and now, I can finally leave. Mafuyu has refused to leave, how hypocritically noble of him. He promised he would stay with me, forever but now he wants to stay and watch over Reiko. Despite that, I've succeeded. Himuro mansion is now just a terrible memory of the past._

_The ropes will hold the gate closed, I have no doubt that they will. The ghosts rejoiced and all their souls have gone back to where they were years ago. I feel bad for bringing them back for this purpose, but at least it didn't fail like mine did. They won't be trapped here again._

_As for Michiko, I have no remorse for her. She tried to prevent this and I still wish I had killed her. Now that I think about it, the pain she's suffering has to be worse than death. Serves her right. She never should have interfered.

* * *

_

**Michiko**

Michiko rested her head against the tree. She stood away from the other people at the bus stop. Her hair fluttered into her face and she was slightly amazed at how white her bangs were. Her disheveled clothes and bloodstained face and hands made everyone think that she had killed someone. She didn't care what they thought; she just wanted to get far away from Himuro mansion, far away from Japan, far away from anything that brought back memories of her sister. She looked at her and Reiko's bag and took out any money, food, and anything else that seemed important for her to take with her out of the country. Her shaky hands fell onto the books written by Ryozo Munakata. She took them out and threw them in the nearby trash. She also threw out the twin bags.

The bus rumbled down the street and slowly came to a stop. Michiko turned around to look at the forest one last time and thought about how Mafuyu had led her out of the mansion. She had cried and shouted, even broke a few things, but Mafuyu hadn't cared. He said that he would watch over Reiko and make sure that nothing like this would happen again. She didn't say or think of anything when she left; she only left a small letter by the ground in the atrium where she spent hours burying Reiko's body.

_Here lies the body of Reiko Tetsuya. Last of the Miko of Himuro Mansion._

"Miss," the driver called, suspiciously. "Are you getting on?"

Michiko nodded, paid him and sat at the back, avoiding the watchful stares of the other riders. 'I must scare them,' she thought ruefully. She laughed quietly at this thought, so she wouldn't be heard. Michiko looked out the window as the bus sped away and she could have sworn she saw Reiko wave cheerfully to her before they turned the corner.

"Michiko, I'm sorry."

* * *

_Well, part one's finished. Part two's going to be kinda sad too, but part three will be the happy ending._


	6. Chapter 5 Ending pt 2

_The next chapter of Michiko and Reiko. The summary's the same, so I'm not going to post it again. The story's hopefully going to make more sense than the last one did, but it's still going to be more or less the same. I only rewrote it because the last one seemed too confusing, hopefully this one won't be as confusing.

* * *

_

**Chapter 5- Ending 2**

**Kirie**

_The other girl...how can she still be so stubborn? Wanting to save her sister from this fate...it's impossible. She must know that there's no way I'll let her intervene any further. And Mafuyu...stalling me and preventing any other ghost from harming her. How I long to kill her. No matter, he can't guard her forever._

_With Reiko being purified right now, what can Michiko do? Nothing. Nothing at all.

* * *

_

**Michiko**

Groaning, Michiko sat up and rubbed her head. Opening her eyes made her feel nauseous; her vision was blurry and discolored, a grayish color. 'Reiko…she was here…right?' a voice in her head questioned. 'No…it was…it was…'

"Kirie," she whispered as an answer. "She was here…"

Suddenly remembering what had happened, Michiko stood up, a bit too fast, and ran down the stairs to find Reiko. On the last step, she lost her footing and fell down with a crash. This made her nausea even worse and her hand flew up to her mouth. She tried to breathe slower, but lost it when thoughts of Reiko made her heart race. The ipod had clicked over yet again, but Michiko ignored it. The noise became louder and she turned her head to the door, where the noise was loudest. As she was about to stand up, she caught a glimpse of a transparent hand phasing through the door. Startled, she jumped away from the door and watched as the rest of the long armed man came through the door. At once, the man darted for her. Michiko side stepped him and raced up at the stairs to the anteroom, suddenly thinking that it would be safer. The man hovered, almost lazily behind her, trying to grab her ankles. Michiko turned, the man passing through the wall and opened the door. She slammed it shut just as his finger grazed her shoe. To her surprise, he wouldn't go through the wall into the room. Not wanting to take any chances though, she sat near the drawers and rifled through the bags she had left in the room.

Grabbing a bottle of water from her bag, she drank deeply and scanned the room apprehensively. To her comfort there was still no sign of any ghosts. Her breathing was returning to normal, her dizziness was almost gone, and her nausea had almost faded away. The only thing that remained was her gray vision. No matter how hard or how many times she rubbed her eyes, the gray still remained. A sudden memory passed through her mind. 'Your sister has no powers? …she can see them, you can't…'

"Is that what Mafuyu meant?" Michiko asked, tightening the cap and placing it back in the bag. "Reiko could see these things…like this? How?" She pulled her earphones off her ears and hung them around her neck. "Guess there's no point in wearing these if I can see them too."

She lay against the drawer and looked up at the ceiling. So many thoughts passed by in a blur, she couldn't hold onto one of them for longer than three seconds. 'How can I see the ghosts…Where's Reiko…Where the hell is Mafuyu…Should I leave without her…How are we going to get out of here…Why's this happening…I…I want her back…'

* * *

**Kirie**

_How stupid I am! Giving that girl the same power...what was I thinking! It must have been Mafuyu's little distraction. I didn't think that he would have guarded the other girl for this long. Well, the other ghosts can still try to attack her; I don't care what happens to them. All my attention has to be set on Reiko. If she forgets for a second...it'll be almost impossible to get her back under my control.

* * *

_

**Reiko**

Cold air seeped through the large hole at the top of the ceiling making Reiko shudder again. The large hole in the center of the shrine was completely blackened except for the small slivers of silver light from the gaping hole in the ceiling. Reiko could see a rusted ladder in the moonlight and wondered briefly if it was safe to climb down. She stepped forward and peered down into it. She could only see a foot below before the darkness swallowed up the rest of the cave. Reiko stood over the edge and suddenly wondered how she had gotten here. She didn't remember walking here, she didn't remember her searches of the mansion, she barely remembered there was even a mansion, she could vaguely remember someone with her…someone close to her…

'But…who?' she thought. 'Why…can't I…remember…Mich…Mi…what was the name? Was it real…or is it just…a dream I had…or something?'

"The ritual has to continue." Someone sharply said behind her. "Go down the ladder."

'Ritual? What ritual?' Reiko thought as she turned around, not surprised to the sight of the ceremony master and the priests. Although she wanted to ask her thought, she asked something else. "Will it hold?" she started to smile. "It really doesn't look…stable."

The ceremony master nodded slightly causing Reiko to think that he was irritated with her. She laughed at the thought although there wasn't any reason to and started to climb down. The ladder did hold her weight and she reached the bottom of the cave with a slight splash of water. She looked at her hands and saw that rust was on them, she rubbed her hands on her shirt and looked more closely at the new surroundings.

A mummy was right across from her. Reiko examined it and could see that it was in pretty bad shape. The neck seemed to almost have cracked completely off and the head was leaning dangerously forward, giving the impression that she was in a bowing position. Reiko smiled and touched it. The bones were cold and felt wet, like rain had dripped onto her which was impossible since the mummy was in a little alcove. Reiko backed away as she had heard a light splash to her right. A woman in a white kimono stood near a door Reiko hadn't seen. The woman's appearance reminded Reiko of herself and someone else, the same person she supposedly had entered the mansion with. She tried again to recall the name, but it didn't work.

"You know what you must do," the woman said, her voice echoing in the small area. "You have to finish the ritual, so that the gate won't open."

"I never started the ritual," Reiko replied, laughing loudly again. "How can it be finished then?"

The woman frowned. "You know what I mean. The ritual has to end with your sacrifice. It has to finish with you."

Reiko couldn't control her laughter and before she knew what she was saying, she opened her mouth again. "It was supposed to end with you, but you were a failure! You were given a second chance years ago and you blew it! Now it's my turn," she stopped laughing but continued to smile. "What'll you do if I fail? Who else is there that you can use?"

"You're insane," the woman said coldly. "You have no idea what you are saying."

"You're telling me that I'm lying?" Reiko asked with a laugh.

"I'm telling you that you don't know what you are saying. I'm not saying that you're lying; I'm saying that you have to finish the ritual. Now!"

"Why can't you use that other person?"

"There is no other person," the woman said calmly, but Reiko could see her eyes widen in surprise. "You are the last. The last Shrine Maiden."

Reiko stopped laughing and tried to remember the other person she had mentioned. 'Who is she? Why do I have any feeling that I know her when I have no memory of her? Wait, how did I know it was a girl?' Another voice seemed to pop in her mind. 'But I know she's here, I've seen her around the mansion. I've tried to kill her…but it hasn't worked yet…Mafuyu guards her…could she be used?'

The woman stared at Reiko as she looked up the hole. "There's another person here. Don't lie to me and say that there isn't." Reiko turned back to face the woman. "Don't lie, Kirie."

Kirie blanched. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. Finally, she snapped her fingers and the priests appeared beside Reiko, two grabbed her arms the other two followed behind and the ceremony master led the way. As they neared the door, Reiko laughed again at Kirie as she turned back to the evil Malice Kirie.

"I don't want to die!" she shouted mockingly at her as the priests tried to push her through the door.

Kirie cursed Reiko under her breath and vanished, leaving Reiko struggling against the priests.

* * *

**Kirie**

_Damn her. She can hear my thoughts? She doesn't remember her life but remembers mine? What the hell? I shouldn't use her then. She may still be insane and not remember her past, but if she remembers mine the ritual will fail. But Michiko...can I use her? Mafuyu is watching her closely, it's going to be impossible for me to get near her...maybe...maybe Reiko still has a use to me after all...

* * *

_

**Michiko**

A noise echoed above her. Michiko looked over and could see a small square high in the ceiling. She stood up and walked just below it. She hesitated as another noise could be heard from above her head. 'Maybe I should just leave…but what door should I use?' Michiko turned around and could see the other door beside the drawers she had laid against.

"Go through the door you came in."

Michiko turned back around and saw Mafuyu standing right in front of her. She gasped and almost fell backward but regained her footing.

"Where've you been?" Michiko asked.

"Don't take your anger out at me," Mafuyu said. "I was upstairs, as I think you heard, trying to stop the ghosts from entering the room. You'd be surprised at how strong they are," he added noticing her skeptical face. "Especially when they're angry."

"Angry? At me? What did I do to them?"

"Nothing. They're angry at being ordered around by Kirie since they had left years ago, but now they're back and are being told to kill you…which they're happy to do since they think that they'll go back to where they were after my sister defeated Kirie." He sighed. "They don't know that it's not that simple…"

"Do you know where Reiko is?" Michiko asked, cutting him off.

"Yes…"

"Well?"

"She's at the Moon Shrine. The shrine in the atrium."

"Oh…ok." Michiko went through the door and went down the hall, not noticing until she was about to go outside that Mafuyu had followed her. "Why are you stalking me?"

"I'm not stalking you!" he shouted angrily. "I think it's better for me to come with you so that I can protect you and your sister."

"You don't need to; I can see the ghosts too, so I can take care of myself." Michiko said as she opened the door and went outside.

Mafuyu sighed and whispered to himself. "Seeing them only gets you so far, you can't attack them. At least I can…"

It was windier now than when they had first entered the mansion. Michiko hurried to the building in the atrium and went up the small set of stairs. Looking down, she could see a few pieces of a tablet on the ground and a plate hung loosely on the door. Mafuyu looked at these and started to think that they shouldn't go in there, but Michiko had beaten him to speaking and had already entered the shrine.

Michiko looked around the bare room, wondering if it really was the gray that she could see or was it a different color. A large shrine had slid back and now revealed a hole. Michiko walked warily over to it and looked down into its depths. Nothing was there, at least she couldn't see if anything was there. Mafuyu looked over her shoulder and stared down the hole. As Michiko was about to go down the ladder a shout startled her and she had almost fallen down.

"Reiko?" she asked, leaning over the edge as far as she could without falling. "Reiko! Are you down there!"

"Use your flashlight." Mafuyu said, pointing to her pocket.

Michiko took it out and turned it on. As the light went down the hole another yell sounded. Michiko almost dropped her flashlight as she saw a flash of a transparent arm far below. Fearing it was Kirie she backed away as Mafuyu vanished. She almost yelled in anger, but was stopped when something cold grazed her cheek.

* * *

**Reiko**

The priest had finally let her go as they had heard someone up above yell her name. Reiko watched, confused, as they left her. She laughed again as she heard the same person above scream and heard feet hit the metal of the ladder. Reiko stepped closer to the mummy and watched as the girl finally reached the ground. The girl turned around and looked as though she was going to cry. Reiko stepped back, smiling when she saw the ceremony master right behind the other girl.

"Reiko," the girl said, choking back the tears. "I've been looking for you…come on, let's get out of here."

Reiko shifted her head to the side, but didn't move. She didn't even acknowledge that the girl had spoken to her. All she could hear was Kirie's voice, almost yelling, in her head.

"Reiko, what's wrong?" the girl asked, concerned. "We have to get out of here, now. Come on!"

The girl turned to go up the ladder and the ceremony master had vanished just as she reached up to grab a rung.

"No!" Reiko shouted, grabbing the girl's wrist. "There's a quicker way."

The girl stared but shrugged to let Reiko lead the way. Reiko opened the door to the side and they entered another larger cavern. They went down and ran past the narrow bridge, avoiding the ghosts standing by, watching them.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Michiko asked.

They opened the doors at the end of the hall and entered the room. In the center of the room was a large wooden wheel, stained with blood and other turning devices around the large table. Michiko gasped and looked at Reiko.

"Where are we, Reiko?"

Reiko opened her mouth, but stopped as Kirie appeared sitting on the altar. Michiko backed away, grabbing Reiko and leading her back too.

"You won't be able to get out that way," Kirie whispered, loud enough for both girls to hear her. "All the ghosts are out there and with a sacrifice standing right in front of them, I doubt that they'd let you leave."

"We aren't sacrifices, Kirie! We're not going to die just because you want to leave!" Michiko shouted.

"Who said that the both of you are sacrifices?" Kirie asked, standing up. "I only need one of you; the ritual won't fail either way. You're both able enough to be the next sacrifice. Both of your ties to the outside world have been severed for days, if anyone had cared enough about you, don't you think they would have come here by now?" Michiko looked down at the floor, clearly thinking that that was true. "The only problem is that Michiko is two years older than a normal Shrine Maiden…but the Hell Gate would find an older sacrifice far better than a younger."

Michiko swallowed and looked at her sister. Reiko was staring at the wheel, happily waiting for the girl to lay on it. "So I imagine you've chosen me, haven't you Kirie?" Michiko whispered.

"Very good, Michiko."

"I think the ritual will fail anyway though, if you use either of us." Michiko muttered. "So what if we haven't been outside for days, so what if the Hell Gate thinks that I'd be a better sacrifice? The thing is, I don't want to die, and you didn't want to die either did you? That's what caused your ritual to fail, that's what would cause mine to fail to, wouldn't it?"

"It's not my problem," Kirie said as the priests forced her down on the altar. "Once you've died, I can leave. I don't honestly care if it works or not. I just want to leave."

Michiko tried to struggle against them, but it was impossible. Reiko watched, amused, as the ropes were tied to her limbs. Michiko tried to yell at her sister for not helping, but the words died away when she saw how happy she was. At this, her heart felt empty.

'My own sister is smiling for me to die…'

The four priests and the ceremony master started to turn the wheels, causing Michiko to scream as her pulse started to fade. Michiko started to feel her arms and legs tear and the pressure on her neck caused her breathing to slow. After a few minutes the men paused.

"Any last words?" Kirie said, laughing.

"Reiko…" she said turning toward her sister. "Why…do you…smile?"

Reiko opened her mouth but wasn't able to tell her why. The priests and ceremony master all pushed one last time and Michiko's last scream echoed through the room. Blood showered the altar and her limbs were torn from her body. At this sight, Reiko screamed and covered her eyes. The men each grabbed a rope and left through another door, Kirie leading the way, leaving Reiko alone with Michiko's broken body.

* * *

**Kirie**

_Michiko's ritual...it failed. The Malice went through the mansion and out to the nearby village trapping all the souls down to that place. Reiko was able to leave with Mafuyu's help and she's basically back to normal now._

_At least I was able to leave, I was granted that much. For me now, Himuro mansion is a terrible memory. Poor Mafuyu, though. I wanted him to leave with me, but he wanted to stay behind. I don't know why he would though. Michiko will be just as I had been. Hopefully no one will stray into that mansion again...unless they have a death wish.

* * *

_

**Reiko**

Reiko stared hopelessly as she looked through the woods that had once been a village. Mafuyu had told her to run as fast and far away as she could from the village, since he had no idea how far the Malice would spread. Reiko couldn't believe how far things had gotten out of hand. A whole village was now gone because of Reiko. 'If only Michiko hadn't been sacrificed, none of this would have happened. All of this for a stupid report.' With her mind back to normal, she couldn't help but think this was all her fault. She kicked the dirt and frowned. 'I never even got to say good bye to Michiko.'

Sighing, she turned around and trudged back to the other town which was a few miles away. Just as she reached a sidewalk she heard someone whisper, "Reiko, why don't you smile?"

* * *

_Yep, finally done part two. This ending sucked, I think, it didn't come out exactly as I wanted it but it was close enough. It almost mirrors Crimson Butterfly in a way. About the last line: basically when the Malice warped Michiko, it made her insane. Yeah, and Reiko's not insane cause Kirie left, which was the cause of her insanity. Yeah, okay kind of a ramble there, the third part will be happy and very short. Then this story will be done. _


End file.
